Tui to the M's!

InsidethePark.com Staff

06/07/2004

InsidethePark.com caught up with an ecstatic Matt Tuiasosopo shortly after he was drafted by the Mariners in the third round of Monday's MLB Draft. The promising hometown athlete from Woodinville High said the draft went as well as he could have hoped for.

Huddled around the computer waiting for his name to be called, Matt Tuiasosopo listened as the teams he thought might take him selected other players instead.

Then came pick No. 93, the Seattle Mariners' first choice in the 2004 MLB First-Year Player Draft, and he heard the words he'd been hoping to hear.

"It was pretty intense," said Tuiasosopo of the scene at his house. "We were sitting around the computer listening to the radio and watching live. The M's came up and we heard the name and started shouting. We are thankful that the M's took me as their selection."

The youngest Tuiasosopo brother said he had a feeling the New York Yankees or Philadelphia Phillies might take him earlier, but once those teams had made their selections he started hoping for the Mariners, the team he grew up rooting for.

"They've been my favorite ever since I was growing up," said Tuiasosopo. "I'm so excited to have the opportunity to get drafted by them."

Already signed on to play quarterback at the University of Washington, the 18-year-old now has a big-time decision to make. Will he turn pro and sign with the Mariners? Or will he turn down the dollars for a chance to follow in his brothers footsteps and play on the gridiron for the Purple and Gold?

He says he hopes to make the decision as soon as possible.

"We'll have a meeting with my advisors and we'll make a decision soon hopefully," Tuiasosopo said.

Shortly after talking to InsidethePark.com, Tui appeared on the local sports radio station and revealed that he will only play one sport. There will be no playing football for the Huskies AND playing baseball for the Mariners in his future.

And if he chooses the Mariners over the Huskies, he says the Washington coaches have already told him they'll support him either way.